Thoughts The Very Cool Life Code: The Seven Keys for Unlocking a Life of Freedom, Ease, and Connection by Drew Rozell, 2011, eBook 155 pages
Oh heck, I’ll just say it. I love self-help books. So there. Raspberries to you if you roll your eyes. I love raspberries, don’t you?
I very much enjoyed this and the first days of a new year is always a great time to read about how to be more positive and think “great expectations” for achieving goals and happier attitudes.
Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.
-George Sheehan
This book is written by a guy who is a life coach — or, rather — a “how to live a cool life” coach. Thus the book. It espouses the same themes as The Secret (not really a secret bytheway if you publish a book, right?! But still totally misunderstood by most people, imho) and other “You gotta think it to be it” philosophies. [One of my favorite books that helps mold better thought processes is Shad Helmstetter’s What to Say When You Talk to Yourself.] I ‘met’ Drew online blog-hopping and enjoy his practical yet radical thoughts.
If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right.
I truly do believe that if you whine and complain about how your life sucks then you will only get more of the same. And the reverse is true, too. If you think joyful grateful generous thoughts, you tend to see your life in more generous terms and not only treat others more kindly but yourself as well. Thus my 2012 pledge to be “of generous spirit”. AND I must add, that my goal to write a letter each day is helping tremendously! I think of friends and family and send them best wishes, sharing news and fun quotes and good cheer – it only helps me to appreciate the wonderful friends and my family that I love and reminds me that life is very good. I am telling the people who are important to me that they are important to me. This in turn, helps me realize how I can be important to them.
important |imˈpôrtnt| adjective of great significance or value; likely to have a profound effect on success, survival, or well-being : important habitats for wildlife | it is important to avoid monosyllabic answers | [sentence adverb] the speech had passion and, more important, compassion. • (of a person) having high rank or status. • (of an artist or artistic work) significantly original and influential.
Now, this COOL-LIFE thinking does take practice. And those that already ‘know’ it and maybe not even realize they know it have always fascinated me. Self-confident people – how do they do it?! It’s eluded me. It’s tough work. Or if I want to practice this right now, I would say, “I once thought it was tough work but I’m finding it easier and easier to think positive about the results I want to see. In fact, I’m seeing positive results already.” (see what I did there?)
Invest a few moments in thinking. It will pay good interest. ~Author Unknown
Basically, you must live in accordance with your core beliefs. Change your core beliefs to be in-line with what makes you feel ‘best’ according to your values and wa la! You are no longer fighting upstream but going with the flow.
The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking. ~Albert Einstein
For me, I like having ideas and even words to think upon when I need to ‘re-align’ with what I think (and feel and know) I want out of life. And I don’t mean fancy cars and jewels and crap. [But yea, I do kinda mean my fancy boat…] When I feel ‘NOT at EASE’ [aka ‘dis-eased’] and/or stressed, I now have my “Be generous in spirit” mantra and the words ‘freedom’, ‘ease’, ‘connection’ to get me on a better track. Call me New-Age-y. Call me deluded. Call me non-realistic. Whatever.
Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.
-Vaclav Havel
Works for me. I’m practicing. I have a great life and I’m very well aware of it. Andbutandthensome, I do think I need to give more and create more GOOD in the world. Put myself out there; create, generate positive waves of goodness to counteract all the negativity that swirls the globe. It’s something I can do. I should do. I want to light that candle so other candles see by my example. Call it prayer to a higher being of your choice, call it bullshit, call it good-energy-vibes, call it a twist on some-of-that-old-time-religion, whatever. It is my reality and I want the best reality my mind can conjure, thankyouverymuch.
I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
– Henry David Thoreau
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
There’s only one me and it’s up to me to be the best me I can be and to imagine it so. It’s the imagining part I want to make easy and fruitful and productive for good.
All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind.
-Abraham Lincoln
RATING: Four slices of pie. Lemon Meringue Pie!
Electricity is of two kinds, positive and negative. The difference is, I presume, that one comes a little more expensive, but is more durable; the other is a cheaper thing, but the moths get into it.
-Stephen Leacock
HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine
hm, sounds interesting. Everyone could use a ‘cool’ life. I am sure I would learn a lot about this book. On to the wish list it goes. Fun review as always!
Me again. I missed your tags. They are more entertaining than the post. lol
Of COURSE they are! I love tags. Do you read Jenny’s Books? I read her tags before and sometimes instead of the actual post. 😀
I want this. I do love self-help books too. They can be so inspiring. Then again, so are your tags! Thanks for the reminder!
Yea, I can usually be counted on for quick quips of inspiration. I can drive my friends bananas.
All admit it, I don’t have good luck with self help books but I am not going to malign you your success!
Well, and. There are SO MANY kinds of self-help. Wouldn’t you call any cookbook, HOW-TO-plan-a-_____ books basically, ‘self-help’? :O
Nice review. Who doesn’t want to live a cool life, I ask you? I love organization books and get poo-pooed all the time. I’m going to respond with raspberries next time. 🙂
Hi Care –
Just found this review and I wanted to say thanks for reading and taking the time to review my book!
Much appreciation & keep practicing,
Drew
Hi Drew! I added your website to your name in case anyone wants to link back to find you. 🙂
Also, your latest post is reminding me of someone I bet you know and may admire: Amanda Palmer. Did you see her TED talk?! Awesome.
Click here to see it –> http://www.amandapalmer.net/news/ted/
thanks for adding the link. had heard of her, had not seen her talk. really, really liked it. thanks for sharing it!